Serial Story: Jasmine Betrayal, Part 22 (Final)
This story is presented weekly in draft (that means unedited)
format every Friday right here on the blog for free. When the story is
done, it will be edited, polished and available for sale at all your
favorite online retailers.
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21
Jasmine Betrayal
Part 22
“No! Don’t!” Genevieve watched in horror as Max ran outside. She went to the window, pulling the blinds apart enough to watch as he reached two figures lying flat on the ground. Another shot kicked up dirt several yards away, and she frowned. If it was a sniper out there, he wasn’t very good. There was absolutely nothing blocking Max from the direction the bullets came from.
There was some shuffling on the ground and then Max and the two elderly people got up and...sprinted to the diner. Definitely not elderly then, though they definitely looked the part. FBI?
She watched until they reached the diner and Max let them in the back door. No more shots were fired, and Genevieve let the blinds fall back in place. Jenkins men wouldn’t have bothered with disguises, so it must be the FBI, but why were they here so early? And only two?
And who the heck was shooting? Why had he missed?
She paced the trailer, not sure what to do next. She was so tired of all this, so tired of running and people trying to kill her. What she wouldn’t give to have it all just disappear.
The door to the trailer burst open and for a second, she forgot to breathe as the bright light coming in behind the person obscured his features in shadow. When Max was finally out of the shadow, she breathed a sigh of relief.
“What’s going on? Who were those people?”
He shook his head, a look of disbelief on his face.
“CIA, if you can believe it. Apparently they’ve been tracking Jenkins too, watching his international shipments, and apparently they have this place bugged. They heard the calls we made, and decided to intercept early. Things are going to get really dicey around here very soon - I think we’d better clear out.”
“But the diamonds, all the evidence...”
Max grabbed her hand, pulling her toward the back of the trailer. “I showed them where the diamonds are, and told them they could get any of the other information they need from the FBI after this is all done. You and I are leaving. Now.”
She jumped as he released her hand, stepped back, and kicked out one of the back windows.
“What about the sniper?” she asked as he finished pushing out the screen and stuck edge pieces.
“He won’t be expecting us to leave this way, so if you jump down and stay low, he might not even see us. We’ll make a run for the truck...as soon as you land, run for it, okay?”
She nodded, swallowing the lump of fear in her throat.
“Okay.” She took a deep breath, and then crawled through the opening as fast as she could, anxious to get as far away from the place as possible. Staying low like Max had said, she ran for his truck, surprised when he got in about the same time she did. She hadn’t even heard him behind her.
Shots hit the truck bed as Max started the engine and peeled out, reaching over to pull her down across the seat.
“Stay low,” he growled, the truck swerving from side to side as he left the clearing behind. “Just a few more minutes to be sure.”
There were no more shots after that, and she sat up, watching the world go by at breakneck speed as Max drove them towards the highway. They stopped twice for a quick break, gas and snacks, and then it was back on the highway until he pulled into the driveway of the little house in Memphis. Killing the engine, he got out of the truck, went around and pulled her door open, and then pulled her into his arms.
She gasped, holding on tight as he carried her up to the door.
“What are you doing?” she said, looking all around and expecting the bad guys to jump out from behind every shrub and building. “What if someone sees us? We have to--”
“Shhh.” He unlocked the door and pushed it open, carrying her over the threshold. “If the bad guys aren’t rounded up by now, they will be by morning. I’m ninety-nine percent sure we weren’t followed, and if we’re really lucky, that blinking message on my machine will be very good news for both of us.” He put her down, holding her for a moment longer to make sure she was stable and pressed a quick kiss to her lips as he reached out to push the button.
“We’ve got the package - thanks for the tip.”
Genevieve frowned at the short message. “What does that even mean? They got the tea? The diamonds? Jenkins’ men? Why are you smiling?”
Max chuckled. “It means you’re free, Gen. Everything’s done.”
She shook her head, confused. “That can’t be all there is to it. It’s too easy. I need more information. Who was that - can we call him?”
Max laughed again, picking her up and tossing her over his shoulder.
“If there was a problem, he’d have said so. I’ll call tomorrow and we can figure out how to get the rest of the evidence in, and to who. But right now,” he carried her into the bathroom and put her down in front of the tub. “We are going to take a shower, and go to bed. In that order.”
She put her hands on her hips, raising her eyebrows.
“Oh really? Is that a request, or an order? Because I think--”
Max hauled her into his arms and kissed her, hard and long and every thought she’d been thinking flew right out of her head as she wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him back.
“No more thinking,” he said, his fingers sliding underneath the hem of her shirt.
She couldn’t have argued if she wanted to.
###
Thanks for reading - I hope you enjoyed the story! Jasmine Betrayal is now off to the editor (or will be soon). The draft will be available here on the blog for one more week, and then it will disappear as the next serial story begins. Something completely different...
Enjoy
this post? Support your author:
format every Friday right here on the blog for free. When the story is
done, it will be edited, polished and available for sale at all your
favorite online retailers.
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21
Jasmine Betrayal
Part 22
“No! Don’t!” Genevieve watched in horror as Max ran outside. She went to the window, pulling the blinds apart enough to watch as he reached two figures lying flat on the ground. Another shot kicked up dirt several yards away, and she frowned. If it was a sniper out there, he wasn’t very good. There was absolutely nothing blocking Max from the direction the bullets came from.
There was some shuffling on the ground and then Max and the two elderly people got up and...sprinted to the diner. Definitely not elderly then, though they definitely looked the part. FBI?
She watched until they reached the diner and Max let them in the back door. No more shots were fired, and Genevieve let the blinds fall back in place. Jenkins men wouldn’t have bothered with disguises, so it must be the FBI, but why were they here so early? And only two?
And who the heck was shooting? Why had he missed?
She paced the trailer, not sure what to do next. She was so tired of all this, so tired of running and people trying to kill her. What she wouldn’t give to have it all just disappear.
The door to the trailer burst open and for a second, she forgot to breathe as the bright light coming in behind the person obscured his features in shadow. When Max was finally out of the shadow, she breathed a sigh of relief.
“What’s going on? Who were those people?”
He shook his head, a look of disbelief on his face.
“CIA, if you can believe it. Apparently they’ve been tracking Jenkins too, watching his international shipments, and apparently they have this place bugged. They heard the calls we made, and decided to intercept early. Things are going to get really dicey around here very soon - I think we’d better clear out.”
“But the diamonds, all the evidence...”
Max grabbed her hand, pulling her toward the back of the trailer. “I showed them where the diamonds are, and told them they could get any of the other information they need from the FBI after this is all done. You and I are leaving. Now.”
She jumped as he released her hand, stepped back, and kicked out one of the back windows.
“What about the sniper?” she asked as he finished pushing out the screen and stuck edge pieces.
“He won’t be expecting us to leave this way, so if you jump down and stay low, he might not even see us. We’ll make a run for the truck...as soon as you land, run for it, okay?”
She nodded, swallowing the lump of fear in her throat.
“Okay.” She took a deep breath, and then crawled through the opening as fast as she could, anxious to get as far away from the place as possible. Staying low like Max had said, she ran for his truck, surprised when he got in about the same time she did. She hadn’t even heard him behind her.
Shots hit the truck bed as Max started the engine and peeled out, reaching over to pull her down across the seat.
“Stay low,” he growled, the truck swerving from side to side as he left the clearing behind. “Just a few more minutes to be sure.”
There were no more shots after that, and she sat up, watching the world go by at breakneck speed as Max drove them towards the highway. They stopped twice for a quick break, gas and snacks, and then it was back on the highway until he pulled into the driveway of the little house in Memphis. Killing the engine, he got out of the truck, went around and pulled her door open, and then pulled her into his arms.
She gasped, holding on tight as he carried her up to the door.
“What are you doing?” she said, looking all around and expecting the bad guys to jump out from behind every shrub and building. “What if someone sees us? We have to--”
“Shhh.” He unlocked the door and pushed it open, carrying her over the threshold. “If the bad guys aren’t rounded up by now, they will be by morning. I’m ninety-nine percent sure we weren’t followed, and if we’re really lucky, that blinking message on my machine will be very good news for both of us.” He put her down, holding her for a moment longer to make sure she was stable and pressed a quick kiss to her lips as he reached out to push the button.
“We’ve got the package - thanks for the tip.”
Genevieve frowned at the short message. “What does that even mean? They got the tea? The diamonds? Jenkins’ men? Why are you smiling?”
Max chuckled. “It means you’re free, Gen. Everything’s done.”
She shook her head, confused. “That can’t be all there is to it. It’s too easy. I need more information. Who was that - can we call him?”
Max laughed again, picking her up and tossing her over his shoulder.
“If there was a problem, he’d have said so. I’ll call tomorrow and we can figure out how to get the rest of the evidence in, and to who. But right now,” he carried her into the bathroom and put her down in front of the tub. “We are going to take a shower, and go to bed. In that order.”
She put her hands on her hips, raising her eyebrows.
“Oh really? Is that a request, or an order? Because I think--”
Max hauled her into his arms and kissed her, hard and long and every thought she’d been thinking flew right out of her head as she wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him back.
“No more thinking,” he said, his fingers sliding underneath the hem of her shirt.
She couldn’t have argued if she wanted to.
###
Thanks for reading - I hope you enjoyed the story! Jasmine Betrayal is now off to the editor (or will be soon). The draft will be available here on the blog for one more week, and then it will disappear as the next serial story begins. Something completely different...
Enjoy
this post? Support your author:
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